On 14 January 1926, a strike broke out among all grades of worker on the Sierra Leone Government Railway. The strike united precariously-employed African daily wage labourers with Creole clerks and artisans who were being forced to sit an exam to qualify for pay rises while their European colleagues were not.
The day the strike broke out, the British colonial government put the country under virtual martial law and, a few days later, railway management fired many strikers from their jobs.
In response, strikers showed increasing militancy, removing the rails from in front of the manager's train and attacking it with sticks, removing rails at curves, and pulling down telegraph poles to prevent communication with the colonial administration.
The strikers held out for six weeks, supported by a strike fund that raised hundreds of pounds from supporters across West Africa, but were eventually defeated. However, the strike set an example that would be followed by future groups of workers in the country.
Sierra Leone rail strike - WCH | Stories